Credits: Aidan Goodwin
"The prejudices in people's hearts are like a towering mountain; no matter how hard the Uchiha tries, they cannot be moved. Captain Tsunade, do you understand?"
In the cave, this light remark caused Tsunade's pupils to contract. The quiet stillness made it so even Orochimaru and the severely injured Jiraiya could hear it.
With sorrowful eyes, Shirou revealed a wistful smile as he looked at Tsunade.
"I wish you could always be like you were just now."
At this moment, Shirou seemed at a loss for words. He gestured with his hands before finally pointing at Jiraiya's unconscious figure. His eyes shone with a hopeful and envious light, which quickly dimmed.
Boom!
The cave trembled suddenly. Orochimaru's expression hardened as he said in a low, urgent voice,
"The Iwa-nin are about to collapse the cave entrance."
Without hesitation, Orochimaru hoisted Jiraiya onto his back, casting one calm glance behind him before turning toward the cave's exit.
Those words—Shirou's quiet confession—had revealed his inner feelings and placed Tsunade in a dilemma of immense emotional weight.
Who was more important at this moment: Shirou or Jiraiya?
From the perspective of the village's combat strength, Jiraiya was the obvious choice.
From an emotional perspective, Jiraiya had grown up alongside her, while Shirou was merely a boy she had known for two short years. At best, he had elicited her guilt, a lingering wound from the incident with Nawaki.
Shirou had always been acutely aware of his position, which was why he had chosen to take this desperate gamble.
"Captain Tsunade!"
Watching Orochimaru, already poised to defend the collapsing cave entrance with Jiraiya on his back, Shirou displayed a calm smile in the dim cavern.
"This is what it means to be a ninja."
"Shut up!"
At that moment, Tsunade's light-brown pupils were bloodshot with anger—not directed at him, but at herself. When facing danger with Jiraiya, she had been able to act decisively, even against Orochimaru. But with Shirou in front of her, her momentary hesitation spoke volumes.
"Captain Tsunade, acting on emotion will only harm you in the future. And you don't need to blame yourself, because this is my debt to you."
Shirou's tone was calm at first, but as he finished, a carefree smile appeared on his face.
My debt to you.
In that instant, Tsunade realized something. Shirou lowered his kunai and leaned closer, whispering apologetically in her ear,
"I'm sorry, Captain Tsunade. You shouldn't blame yourself. If I hadn't withheld this information, you wouldn't have been in danger. Perhaps we could've avoided this entirely..."
He then revealed the intelligence passed to him by an elder.
The core reason for this ambush was that someone in the village was secretly targeting Tsunade. The specifics were unclear, but the threat was undeniable.
Upon hearing this, Tsunade's pupils trembled. She suddenly understood why Shirou had kept the information hidden—because he feared causing internal strife within the village.
"Captain Tsunade, with the war looming, once Lord White Fang becomes Hokage, such issues will cease to exist..."
Even in his final moments, Shirou was still trying to justify things for the village. This deepened Tsunade's guilt and ignited her anger.
"Uchiha Shirou! What else are you hiding?"
Tsunade's tear-filled eyes burned with fury. She couldn't describe her feelings.
Shirou had done everything for the village, even offering his life to atone. But was any of this his fault?
And now she had to leave Shirou behind. This plunged her into deep regret and self-reproach.
After saying everything, Shirou seemed relieved. His face lit up with a brilliant, genuine smile.
"I'm sorry. This is the last time."
He gently tapped Tsunade's forehead with two fingers, smiling warmly. (Sorry Itachi, I coined it first.)
"Shirou!"
"If we give it our all, we still have a chance to escape!"
"No."
Shirou shook his head, smiling sincerely at Tsunade as he slowly backed away.
"Captain Tsunade, I've said it before: to be a commander, even a Hokage, you must understand sacrifice. Right now, we all know in our hearts... this is the best outcome. Lord Jiraiya and Orochimaru are crucial to the village's strength. And if something happens to you here, it would be a loss for both Senju and Uchiha!"
Shirou clutched a paper bomb near his chest. His warm smile seemed to warn Tsunade not to act rashly.
"Captain Tsunade, I now understand the meaning of standing here."
As Shirou continued to back away, Tsunade shouted in anger,
"What do you understand? You're just a fool with no sense!"
Watching him retreat further, Tsunade's mind buzzed with echoes of her guilt. It felt as if everything was her fault—from Nawaki's fake death to her manipulation of Shirou, and now to this moment.
She had always exploited his love for the village and the guilt she carried.
"Uchiha Shirou!"
Her roar of anguish reached him, but Shirous's smiling face and final words pierced her heart.
"And no, I'm not a replacement for Nawaki."
Replacement.
The word echoed in the cave, making Tsunade's pupils widen. Memories from the past clicked together in her mind.
From Nawaki's death and guilt-driven sharingan awakening, to her use of Shirou for Uchiha's benefit, it all made Shirou misunderstand that he was merely Nawaki's substitute.
He should have been as innocent as her younger brother. Yet in just half a year, he had borne the weight of his clan and her guilt, leaving him yearning for sunlight but standing in shadows, isolated and envious.
Dwelling in darkness, burdened by endless pressure, he seemed to teeter alone on the edge of a cliff, ready to leap into oblivion for liberation.
From the moment he came to rescue her, he had accepted his death.
"Tsunade, Shirou-kun truly is a fitting substitute," Orochimaru's raspy voice taunted from behind her, twisting the metaphorical knife.
"No! He's not a substitute! Stop it! Stop it!"
Her protests echoed into the distance. Yet Shirou, standing far away, felt urgency in his heart.
Damn it! Where is the backup?
Could something have gone wrong?
If so, he felt stifled. Everything had progressed this far—he had gambled his life to set the stage.
Was it all going to end here?
His personality had always been all-or-nothing. Once he decided to act, there was no turning back.
"Captain Tsunade, the hawks of Uchiha have their dignity. The Uchiha clan's love for the village has never been less than anyone else's!"
"I hope this time, both you and the Senju will see Uchiha's love for the village!"
Under Tsunade and Orochimaru's watchful gazes, Shirou's face began to take on the cursed seal's black markings.
"Tsunade, go!"
Orochimaru remained calm.
But Tsunade's eyes brimmed with remorse, her regret eating away at her. Even now, Shirou thought Nawaki's death was his fault.
She had always held herself high above others. Even when facing Shirou, her attitude had been one of condescension, as if granting the Uchiha clan a favor.
Now, she realized with painful clarity that Shirou was only 13 years old. It was she who had shattered his pride.
Underneath his warm smile, his soul was already riddled with wounds.